"Finally! A solidly researched book that challenges the conservative academic dogma of gang members as incorrigible superpredators... May this book provoke a great rethinking of all that is amiss in our society today." -- Tom Hayden, professor at Occidental College and former California state senator "An outstanding set of articles that constitute a new look at an old phenomenon, the urban youth gang." -- William Kornblum, chair at the Center for Urban Research, professor of sociology at City University of New York Graduate Center "Challenges much conventional wisdom about gangs and fills a long-standing gap... Many of the pieces-most conspicuously those on photojournalism-offer a fresh perspective in the often stale scholarly discourse on this most political of criminological topics." -- Joan Moore, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee

Compiled by three leading experts in the psychological, sociological, and criminal justice fields, this volume addresses timely questions from an eclectic range of positions. The product of a landmark conference on gangs, Gangs and Society brings together the work of academics, activists, and community leaders to examine the many functions and faces of gangs today. Analyzing the spread of gangs from New York to Texas to the West Coast, the book covers such topics as the spirituality of gangs, the place of women in gang culture, and the effect on gangs of a variety of educational programs and services for at-risk youth. The final chapter examines the "gang-photography phenomenon" by looking at the functions and politics of different approaches to gang photography and features a photographic essay by Donna DeCesare, an award-winning journalist.